David Attenborough comments on narration controversy

Legendary naturalist politely responds to Discovery Channel's habit of replacing his iconic voice with those of celebrities.

When it comes to the Discovery Channel's nasty habit of replacing him, David Attenborough has nothing but love to express — at least in public.

The legendary naturalist and documentary filmmaker was on hand at the 2010 Television Critics Association Tour to promote his new Discovery show, "First Life". The special, which debuts this fall, uses computer-generated imagery and fossil findings to imagine what animals that lived on Earth hundreds of millions of year ago actually looked like.

Unlike his other recent shows like "LIFE" and "Planet Earth", Attenborough will appear on film talking about the animals — so there's no chance Discovery can replace him with someone else.

With regards to network's decision to remove his narration on the above-mentioned films with Oprah and Sigourney Weaver respectively, Attenborough harbors no ill feelings.

"Obviously as a narrator I'm sorry my narration isn't there," he said. "But I've also done my time as a network controller … and on certain occasions you want to make a change. But the version I narrated is on the market and people can take which they wish."